Pyrocarbonic acid esters, such as diethyl pyrocarbonate have been used in the past for preserving perishable materials, such as fruit juices, vegetable products, wine, pharmaceutical products, beer, and the like, and have the advantage of decomposing into materials native to the perishable material. Dimethyl dicarbonate is more microbiologically active than diethyl dicarbonate and has a greater water solubility, but is less stable in liquid form than diethyl dicarbonate. It has been found that about 10% of dimethyl dicarbonate will autohydrolyze when stored in the liquid state over a period of about 36 hours at room temperature. Because of the lack of stability, dimethyl dicarbonate has shown little commercial promise as a cold sterilizing agent, even though it has greater microbiological activity than its homolog, diethyl dicarbonate.